100 Tales of Love Across Mobius
by Infamousplot
Summary: xDarknessAngelx's Various Couples challenge. Sometimes love can come in the strangest forms, from the strangest of creatures. 100 different Sonic pairings: mostly het, but some yaoi and yuri. Mostly fluff, too. -Drabble Number 28: Risk, Tikal/Shade. Being near Tikal is always a risk... But Shade finds that it's worth it.
1. Meeting, SonAmy

**This is xDarknessAngelx's Various Couples challenge, which was originally made for Kingdom Hearts. She said I could do it for Sonic though :D So, basically, this is 100 different Sonic pairings. It's mostly going to be Archie-verse, since there are a lot of characters I can use from over there. It's mostly het (straight), but there will be a few yaoi and yuri pairings in here. But no one will make you read them, so feel free to skip the pairings you don't like. That's the best part about this :D**

**The first pairing is SonAmy, which I'm not even that big a fan of.  
>I'm going to start out with the obvious cliche pairings and then slowly get stranger and see how much I can freak you out XD jk. Mostly.<br>**

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><p><em><strong>Meeting<strong>_

Ever since the day Sonic the Hedgehog had shown up on the TV screen, Amy Rose's eyes had been glued to him. When she'd heard about that monster Robotnik, going around and capturing animals to make into Robots, she'd been both horrified and furious. She'd go to bed with nightmares and wake up crying, fearful that the maniac would show up here next and turn her and her family into his minions.

Then _he'd_ appeared, the world's knight in shining armor. Sonic the Hedgehog, her supersonic hero, a little blue hedgehog who'd had the guts to stand up to Robotnik and take him down. She'd sat watching the news -which she'd usually found boring or icky -every time Sonic showed up, listened intently to whatever the radio had to say about her hero, and cut out every clipping in the newspaper she could find about him.

A few months after he'd saved South island, he showed up again, stopping Robotnik on Westside Island, this time with some adorable sidekick in tow. Amy's infatuation with Sonic exploded, turning into an enormous crush. She fantasized about meeting her hero, about having him sweep her off her feet. She was only eight, but she'd had plenty of dreams of knights coming to save her. So why couldn't Sonic be her knight? He was cool, and brave, and kind... Her heart melted just _thinking_ about him!

Then, one day, her life changed forever. All because of him.

She'd seen him. A flash of blue, a blast of wind. No one else seemed to notice, but of course, she had. Heart fluttering hopefully, she'd torn after it, ignorant of the cries from her mother to "Get back here!"

Hours of running lead her to _him._ There he was, standing there, standing _right there._ She almost screamed. And then she did.

"_You're Sonic the Hedgehog!_" She squealed. He hardly had time to turn around before she flung herself at him, wrapping him in a monster hug. She felt him struggling to pull her off, but she paid it no mind. It seemed like her dreams had come true...

If only she'd known.

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><p><strong>I actually like Amy a lot more now, and the pairing <em>can<em> be written very nicely. But when it involves derailing them both, it's annoying. **

**So, um, yeah. That's the first chap. Enjoy, and please review? :3  
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	2. Caring, VectorJulie Su

**Thank you Ultima for reviewing :D I'm glad someone read this. I hope you continue to. Actually, the reason I updated again today is because you don't have an account (_still_), so I can't reply to you any other way (hint hint). Anyway, I actually didn;t have trouble coming up with pairings til near the end, and now my main issue is figuring out which ones to use and which to keep XD **

**I hope you stay tuned, because Nicole will show up 5 times -and I do have the pairing Tails/Nicole as one of the chapters XD**

**Kay, so much for Normal/Cliche. This is a pairing I like, Vector/Julie-Su. I find their bickering cute, like a Love-Hate relationship. Knuckles, I need to stop giving your girlfriend away to other guys. Please enjoy :3  
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><p><em><strong>Caring<strong>_

"Of all the stupid, idiotic, selfish things you could have done!" Mighty looked up, ears twitching a little as Julie-Su's familiar screech filled the air. He wondered who'd pissed off the female this time.

"Get over it, will you? At least everyone was okay!" Vector snarled back, answering the armadillo's question. There was a loud smack sound, and an 'oomph!' from Vector. "Alright Princess, you wanna go?" The crocodile raged. Mighty rolled his eyes, getting up from his seat.

"What happened?" He asked, walking out to the two. Julie-Su had Vector in a headlock, and he looked like he was trying to strangle her with his tail. Just a typical day with these two. Whenever Knuckles wasn't around, they set at it like cats and dogs, always at each others throats. Mighty always refrained from saying anything, but if he didn't know any better, he'd have sworn those two were like an old married couple. They bickered all the time. As annoying as it was, Mighty found it rather amusing.

Once they noticed his presence, both launched into a wild explanation of their argument, each seeming to be telling a different story with battling volumes. Mighty chuckled, shaking his head.

"You two are too cute." He teased. Julie-Su's eyes widened, and with a vicious huff, she dropped Vector and stomped off, back toward the Master Emerald. Vector glared after her, shouting something along the lines of "Yeah, that's right, you'd better leave!" -and narrowly avoiding a rock to the head.

"What the hell was that, Mighty?" He growled. There was a slight coloring in his muzzle, Mighty noticed. He shrugged.

"Sorry dude. I couldn't help it." He grinned. Vector scowled. "You know, she might come around to you if you showed her you cared." Mighty noted, only half teasing. This time Vector's muzzle lit up with a shade of red, confirming Mighty's previous suspicions (not that it wasn't already obvious). Vector bopped Mighty on the head, stalking off while grumbling something to himself. "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar!" Mighty called after him, laughing. This time he was the one dodging a rock.

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><p><strong>Those two are adorable together. I like the tsundere, "Slap Slap Kiss" relationships sometimes XD I don't know how many people care about this pairing... But that is the beauty of this challenge. So many wonderful crack pairings... I love crack pairings, and I think any pairing can be written wonderfully. Whether or not I'll manage to do it... Probably not. <strong>

**If you read, review, even if it's just to say "I read this." Just so I know I'm not talking to myself XD  
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	3. Need, KnucklesJulie Su

**Thank you CharmyXcream14 and Rainclaw321 for their reviews :3 I really do like Vector/Julie, even if nothing's been written for it... Maybe I should change that XD Bah, who am I kidding, I suck at romance...**

**Anyway, here's another obvious, actually canon pairing. Knuckles x Julie-Su. I don't really mind this pairing, it's not my favorite but I think it's cute.  
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><p><em><strong>Need<strong>_

Sometimes, when Julie-Su was alone, she'd feel, well... Lonely.

She'd always been around tons of people. Throughout her childhood she'd always been around her sister and hundreds of other echidnas. Now, she was usually just with Knuckles and the rest of the Chaotix. Not that she minded this, of course. The Chaotix were her family, and she loved Knuckles. She loved the crazy, bustling feeling she'd get when all of them were together, laughing or fighting or just hanging out. She chuckled when she remembered the last time they'd gotten together with the Freedom Fighters -Knuckles, Vector, Mighty, Sally and Sonic had tried to make dinner, and Knuckles and Sonic had gotten into some huge fist fight over _something_ or other. By the end, Sally and her were dragging their respective other off of each other. Even after that, everyone was laughing -despite Sonic having a black eye and Knuckles a fat lip.

When she sat up here alone though, in front of the Master Emerald, she felt far from happy. That wonderful, friendly warmth that enveloped her when she was with the others seemed impossible to grasp. She needed someone to be with her, she needed someone to talk with and snuggle up against, the feeling of mobian touch.

She needed Knuckles, needed him far more than he would ever know. She needed to know he was there, to support her and fight with her and even to yell at her when they were stressed. He wasn't perfect, but then again, neither was she. Both of them felt like aliens amongst their own kind, having tossed aside their allegiances to their own clans at least once. It was like they were puzzle pieces, so bent out of shape that they no longer fit in with the big picture, and so they were left off to the side -because you could still see the image perfectly fine without them. The rest of the Chaotix were like that too. They were just a group of oddballs, belonging nowhere except right here, with each other.

She needed Knuckles. She needed him with her, because when she was with him, she had no doubts about where she belonged.

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><p><strong>One of the things I loved the most about writing about the Archie-verse relationships was throwing in random family-blips about the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix. As much as I love Team Sonic and Sonic and Tails, as far as Archie goes I'd much rather see stuff with the Chaotix than the Freedom Fighters. I just love the idea of a big group of oddballs who really don't belong anywhere else, and so they create their own place where they belong ^_^ That's why I adore the Archie interpretation of the Chaotix, as well as all the characters in the Chaotix (especially Knux and Espio).<strong>

**R&R, you know you want to!  
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	4. Hello, TailsCream

**Thanks Rainclaw321, Ultima, Swimchic321, Blackclaw2580, and Gummybear337 (so many numbers Dx) for your reviews!  
>Ultima, you got the first three Nicole pairings right. The fourth is pairing her with my fav Sonic character, and the fifth is... Well, you'll see.<strong>

**Blackclaw: Thanks ^_^ The word limit is 350, so they aren't allowed to be too long... But I'm glad you liked tha fluff :D**

**Gummybear: Yeah, it bugs me when that happens. I'm trying to avoid it playing out like that. You think these are well written? :D  
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><p><em><strong>Hello<strong>_

Cream couldn't remember the last time she'd cried this hard. Not even when she'd had that awful nightmare about Chaos! This was the worst she'd ever felt. Tears streaked down her cheeks, and not even the gentle nuzzling from her Chao made her feel better.

Her mother was gone. Eggman had taken her away! She couldn't begin to imagine what awful things he might be doing to her, and trying to made her want to cry harder.

She wanted to help her mother, but she didn't know how. Mr. Sonic wouldn't let her come with him, and now that she'd followed him, she was hopelessly lost. No amount of shouting for help or asking for directions had gotten her any closer to finding Sonic, or Eggman, or her mother. She'd been brave all day, and now, all she felt like doing was crying.

Soft footsteps made her prick her ears, and she looked up, expecting to see one of those nasty robots. Instead, she saw a a yellow fox walking toward her.

"Hello there." He smiled. His voice sounded young. Cream guessed he was only a little older than her. She recognized him somewhat -wasn't he the one who was always with Sonic? Sniffling, she forced a weak "Hi" back. The fox -who had two tails -crouched down.

"Are you okay?" He asked, a look of sympathy in his blue eyes, like he knew what it felt like to be crying alone under a bush. Shaking her head, she buried her face in her dress. Cheese poked out from under her ear and studied the fox curiously.

"Are you lost?" The fox asked. A nod. "Do you live around here?" A shake, no. "Hm... Well, do you know where you live?" Nod. "Would you like me to help you find your mom?" Cream looked up, eyes glistening.

"You'd... You'd do that?" She sniffled. The fox smiled.

"Sure. I'm not just going to leave you here alone." He laughed, but was cut off as the rabbit flung herself at him, wrapping him in a hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" She cried, tears still leaking from her eyes. The fox returned her hug somewhat hesitantly. She sensed a smile in his voice.

"Don't mention it."

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><p><strong>TailsCream... Is actually really cute :3 I'm not a big fan of it (wow, big surprise XD), but that's mostly because so many people say it's canon. There is no canon in Sonic dangit Dx That, and the really smutty versions of it some people draw 0_o Tails is 8 and Cream is 6. I don't think they'll be doing you-know-what _any_ time soon -.-**

**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	5. Angel, ShadowMaria

**I'm gonna do my review responses at the bottom like PenfullofChaos819 :3**

**This is Shadow/Maria. However, it's fluffy/friendshippy/family-y because the romantic Shadow/Maria kind of squicks me out... As long as it's platonic though, I like it. I love Naive Shadow, much more than bad-ass Shadow, because when I picture him as the little hedgehog who was bffls with Maria, he is absolutely adorable x333**

**Again, the word limit made a lot of this kind of awkward. Especially the first part. It looks so much bigger in my word doc Dx  
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><p><em><strong>Angel<strong>_

Shadow stared at the little doll at the top of the tree, wishing the aching inside his chest would just stop. It was an angel, with soft blonde hair and shining blue eyes. She wore a glistening white dress, with a tiny gold ring suspended above her head by a wire, and fluffy wings sticking from her back. Change the dress to blue, and she'd have looked just like Maria.

- . - . - . -

"Maria, are you an angel?"

"What?" The girl stared at him with a look of shock on her now reddened face. She laughed a little. "What makes you ask that, Shadow?"

"I heard the Professor call you his "little angel." He replied. "What _is_ an angel?" Maria smiled.

"Angels are messengers. When someone dies, some people think that they'll become angels, and that they'll watch over the ones they love from the afterlife." She explained, a sad and somewhat wistful look in her eyes. Shadow nodded, though in all honesty, he hadn't understood half of what she'd just said. Afterlife? Messengers? It made his mind reel.

"Oh." Was all he managed to say. Then Maria started to tell him something about Christmas, and he was immediately caught up in her stories.

- . - . - . -

"Excuse me, sir?" A voice snapped him out of his daydream. Looking up, he saw a store attendant staring at him, concerned. "Are you alright?" Blinking, he nodded, dazed.

"Yes. Um, I want that." He pointed up at the angel. The attendant smiled warmly, climbing up on a stool and taking it down for him. As he took it in his hands, he felt another pang in his chest. It really did look like Maria. It even had that same smile. Remembering common courtesy, he thanked the woman and went off to pay for the ornament.

_Maria, are you an angel __now?__ Are you watching over me? Have I disappointed you?_ He asked silently, of course getting no response.

As he exited the store, he tucked the angel beneath the jacket Rouge had made him wear. Up above, he heard a ruffle of feathers. Shadow looked up, but all he saw was a quick flash of white.

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><p><strong>Thanks Ultima, Blackclaw2580, Zoran Prower and Flameclaw for your reviews :D<br>**

**Ultima: Bzzzzt! Wrong! Not even close XD I'll make you a deal -get an account (even if it is _just_ so I can PM you XD) and I'll tell you all of the pairings in this challenge :3 Do it. You know you want to :D Oh yeah, and thanks for reviewing my Vanitas fic.  
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**Zoran: Thanks for the compliment on the title. I'm fiddling with the drabbles more before I post them now, to make sure they're more "magical". The word limit _does_ make it a lot harder, but there are a lot of parts that I could fix up if I just paid more attention. Thank you for the concrit, it's appreciated :3**

****Flame: thnx x3**  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	6. Apples, SilverBlaze

**This is actually theme number 6 ._. I skipped theme 4 and put up 7 last time. But I wanted to make this one better. It's still a little awkward, but I got kind of stuck. Stupid word limit Dx**

**Kay, this is Silver and Blaze. I like those two, they're pretty cute x3 However, oddly enough, I see it a lot like I see Shadow and Rouge -Blaze is like a big sister to Silver. But I so totally see Silver having a crush on her and her being completely oblivious XD Not my favorite Blaze pairing, but a fav none the less :3**

**Just so you know, this is cross referenced. Blaze and Silver are in Blaze's world from Sonic Rush Adveture (ie, the game that made me ship SonBlaze).  
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><p><em><strong>Apples<strong>_

Silver was such a child sometimes.

Blaze sat calmly in the shade, watching the white hedgehog run about excitedly from tree to tree, using his telekinesis to shake apples from the branches above. They were apple picking. Silver had heard about some farm where they grew apples, and for some reason unbeknownst to her, the idea of going apple picking sounded like fun to him. She didn't see why he was so _excited_ about it. _Probably because he's so used to running around and being serious all the time,_ she thought to herself, a little sadly.

Silver's voice called out from the top of one of the trees.

"I can see the whole island from up here!" He cried, looking down at Blaze with pure joy gleaming in his eyes. Blaze felt her heart melt a little bit. He was just so cute when he got like this, running around like a kid on their birthday. And it took so little to make him happy. She loved that about him. "Blaze, you've gotta come up here!" Blaze laughed.

"Not a chance!" She called back, eying the tree with disgust. She hated heights.

"Come on, it's not even that high!" He whined, hopping down to a lower branch. "Don't make me levitate you up here!" He threatened. Scowling, Blaze got up and kicked off her shoes -heels were awful for climbing trees (and doing just about everything else). Silver reached a hand down, beaming. Somewhat hesitantly, she grabbed it and placed her foot on the lowest branch.

Silver yanked her up much faster than she'd been expecting. The greenery blurred around her, and next thing she knew she knocked heads with the hedgehog. Opening her mouth to voice her pain, she felt her lips move against something soft.

Blinking, she realized her mouth was pressed up against Silver's. Almost as if they were kissing.

Silver's eyes were huge with shock. They stayed in place, lips pressed against each other as he held her against him, unsure what else to do. For an unknown amount of time, they stayed that way, staring at each other in bewilderment.

"Hi." Silver finally said, pulling away -somewhat hesitantly.

"Hey there." Blaze replied, face a little red.

Without another word, Silver scooted over to give her some room and turned to stare at the horizon, face burning red. Blaze did the same, silent. Silver forgot to let go of her hand, she noticed absent mindedly, just as Silver noted that Blaze hadn't pulled hers away.

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><p><strong>Thanks Ultima and Bond of Flame08 for your reviews :D<br>**

**Ultima: Well, Shadow Maria is cute ^_^ Still wrong, and getting farther XD No eMail address? I suggest Gmail. If you aren't allowed to have an email address, then maybe you could use a friend's?**

**Bond: :D Thank you x333 Leave it to me to tease ShadRouge in the middle of ShadMaria XDDD  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	7. Music, SonicMina

**This is number 8 -_- Because I can't put up 4 yet, it sucks Dx**

**Okay, I like SonMina, mostly because I like Mina, and partly because I don't like Sonally :/ Anyway... Oh yeah, this chapter is incredibly stupid XD And the radio station "Smooch 801" is a parody of an annoying radio station in my area, Kiss 108 ("Insert Town Near Where I Live's *kisssssss* on the Insert General Area Near Where I Live"). It plays some good songs, but mostly is just plays the trashy crap we call "music". Oi...**

**I could not resist the urge to have Sonic say what he says. If you were me, you wouldn't have been able to either XD This is why this chap is stupid XD  
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><p><em><strong>Music<strong>_

"Welcome back to Smooch 801, Mobius's _smooooch~_ on Knothole!" The lady on the radio purred in a sultry voice, and after a brief jingle, the next song started to play. Mina sighed, tinkering with the volume. One of those trashy songs that drove her insane was playing, but Sonic had threatened her with a whisk not to change the station.

"_I wake up in the morning feelin like P Diddy..."_

Mina scowled.

"Music has gone to hell." She announced loudly as Sonic walked back into the room. He had been left in charge of cleaning up the Freedom Fighter's base, but he had been more than happy for a little company. Sonic chuckled, trying to toss a plate up to the shelf. It missed and hit the wall, shattering upon impact. Swearing, he zipped over to clean up the mess. "Why do you even listen to this station?" She asked, walking over to the closet to get a broom.

"I dunno. It's pretty catchy." Sonic shrugged, taking the broom from her with a grateful smile. Well, Mina had to admit that. She hated herself for it, but she'd found herself singing quite a few nasty songs in the shower. Her mom had heard her once and scolded her for it.

"_I'm talking about everybody getting crunk, crunk-"_ The radio sang on, and Sonic -being Sonic -decided to join in.

"Boys tryin' to touch my junk, junk. Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk, drunk-" He did a surprisingly good impression of the girl on the radio. Mina was caught between the urge to laugh hysterically and to turn off the radio. She went with the first option.

"You are insane." She laughed, so hard that tears began to spring to her eyes. Sonic grinned, but continued singing.

This was why she loved Sonic. He was just so... So, _Sonic._ Hilarious, care free, wonderful Sonic.

"Now, the party don't start 'til I walk in..." Sonic crooned, struggling to keep a straight face as Mina fell to the floor, sides aching with laughter.

When Sally got back, she found both speed demons singing "Bad Romance" at the top of their lungs...

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><p><strong>Thanks Ultima and Domino for your reviews :D<strong>

**Ultima: Ooh, so _close._ Yeah, I bet your face did look like that XDD And thank you, that's the way I like my Silvaze x3**

**Domi: I'm glad you liked it ^_^ Blaze is awesome, and Silver's adorable. Except in Rivals. I Rivals he is a bully ;;  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	8. Song, TailsMina

**Nao for sum Tails/Mina :3 Mina's awesome enough to come back right after her first appearance XD THAAAAT, and I'm lazy and put her in the two that happened to be about music :/ Well, I like this pairing, cuz Mina's a cool dood and Tails is an adorable dood, so put them together and they're awesome (and so is their son Skye x333)**

**So basically, there was some party for the Freedom Fighters and their buddies (but mainly Sonic because he PWNS ALL OF THEM (except Tails)), Tails got lost, ran into Mina, and they ended up dancing cuz they're buds and buds can do that, right? And theeeeen things got awkward because Tails has a habit of making that happen :/  
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><p><em><strong>Song<strong>_

A soft song murmured from the radio, and Tails was tempted to turn it up. The snoring hedgehog across the room discouraged this. Instead, he reached for the radio, pulling it close and ducking under the covers. He could only just hear it, but it was enough for him.

He didn't know the name of the song, but the notes were soothing and it spoke of new love and healing wounds, and every time he heard it a rush of memories would hit him.

He remembered the crowd, the shouts and the laughter and all the voices meshing together. He couldn't find Sonic or Sally - or anyone he knew -anywhere. Then, Mina was at his side. Greetings were screamed above the blasting music, and even then they still had trouble hearing each other.

He remembered the music starting to slow, and bowing awkwardly to offer her a dance. She'd giggled, said he was "cute", and taken his hand. He remembered the soft feeling of her hands draped over his neck, the warmth of her fur as she pressed up against him. The colored lights played off her violet hair, reminding him of a kaleidoscope. His mind had been so far from romance -he had to remember Fiona, and remind himself that he was young, too young to ever be hurt like that again. Except he couldn't help it. Mina... She just looked so beautiful. And as the soft, gentle music careened out over them, he couldn't help but lose himself.

He remembered her leaning down to say something -at least, that's what he'd thought. When he'd turned his head to ask 'What', her lips pressed against his in an accidental kiss. It had been meant as an innocent gesture, to be placed upon his cheek. But it had misfired. And now, it was all Tails could think about.

She'd laughed it off, as had he -blushing and mumbling like a fool -and that was the last he'd seen of her that night. He never told anyone, not even Sonic. But every time he heard that song, he was sent back to that night, with the soft music and that beautiful girl...

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><p><strong>Thanks Ultima and BinaryHedgehog for your reviews.<br>**

**Ultima: XD I'm glad it amused you. I COULDN'T RESIST IT. He had to say something like that. He just had to.**

**Binary: As much as I hate to admit it... It is very catchy XD And yes, I do, but you'll never find out where! Hahaha!  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	9. Safe, Metal SonAmy

**Okay, I do happen to like this pairing, though I don't support it seriously (that doesn't change the fact that I like it though :D). Metal Sonic/Amy. I just like the idea of Metal Sonic having developed some feelings for Amy while keeping her away from Sonic. If you want to go with the Sonamy pairing, then it totally works, if not, then Metal still feels what Sonic feels, and that determination Sonic had to save Amy... Well, just read the chap.**

**Also, a reminder people: This has 100 different pairings. 100. Odds are, most of you aren't going to like all of them. So there are two very simple ways you can deal with seeing that pairing you despise or a pairing you aren't sure you'd like: You can skip it, or, you could go into it with an open mind. I don't like all of the pairings I chose, but I'm still writing them. So please, _enjoy_ the ones that you like. Thank you :3  
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><p><em><strong>Safe<strong>_

"Let me go, you monster!" Amy shrieked, flailing desperately against her captor's iron (literally) hold. The metallic Sonic Wannabe ignored her, even when she struck at his legs with her feet. All the screaming in the world would do her nothing. This robot could not be moved. Sighing, Amy slumped in his grip, watching morosely as Sonic fought Robotnik's latest machine.

She didn't want to be stuck over here as bait. She _wanted_ to be with her hero. Not his stupid metal clone!

Striking his shin with one last defiant kick, all she managed to do was stub her toe.

Metal was only slightly irritated with the girl. He had been programmed to keep her out of Sonic's reach at all costs, but he had also been programmed to imitate Sonic's actions and feelings. One of those feelings was a powerful desire to keep Amy safe. While vaguely he realized that he was the one Sonic was trying to protect her from, in his mind, it translated as "Keep Amy away from Sonic".

Speak of the devil... A loud explosion vibrated through the air. Metal and Amy watched as Robotnik's machine ignited, shrapnel flying in every direction. Robotnik was swearing viciously and Sonic was struggling to find an exit through all the smoke. A large shard of sheet metal came sailing at Metal and his captive.

Amy saw the enormous object coming straight at her, and her heart skipped a beat. In her mind's eyes she saw it hitting her, plunging in and-

With a swift jerk, Metal leaped up, landing soundly on a platform up above. Gently, he set Amy down, and immediately she clung to the pillar, heart racing. The shrapnel had buried itself deep into the ground- _right where they'd been standing_. Amy shuddered, thoughts of _that could have been me_ playing through her mind.

Glancing at Metal, she saw him studying her carefully. He looked up, and there was a serious, almost _deep_ look in his glowing red eyes. It seemed to be saying "I will keep you safe." And -_I must be going crazy_, she thought -for a moment... She believed him.

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><p><strong>Thanks Ultima, Domino, That Gamer for your reviews.<br>**

**Ultima: I guess so. I love innocent Tails. Tails is adorable :3**

**That Gamer: Like I said in chapter one -if you don't like yuri or yaoi, don't read it. I'm glad you've liked the fic (I guess?) minus the Silvaze. I happen to like Silvaze -it's not my favorite but I don't mind it -but hey, we've all got different opinions. **

**See you all tomorrow!  
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	10. Rain, Metal KnuxRouge

**So far, this was my favorite one to write... I haven't written my favorite pairing yet... This is over the word limit :/ But I couldn't get all that I wanted into just 350 Dx Anyway, since KnuxRouge is later on, this is like a substitute XD Metal Knuckles/Rouge. **

**I'm using OVA stuff here -Metal Sonic is made from Sonic's life date and can tap into it, therefore I'm _assuming_ that Metal Knuckls and the Tails Doll would work the same way (except, y'know, with Knux and Tails). So, if we go by Sonic X standards and Knux has a crush on Rouge, then if Rouge were to do what she does down in teh chappy to Metal Knux, he would probably feel the same as real Knux (but not as spastic).  
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><p><em><strong>Rain<strong>_

Up above, the sky was exploding. Thunder roared and lightning sliced through the otherwise gloomy night. Rain fell down in sheets, drenching any soul stupid enough to step outside. It was any robot's nightmare.

Metal Knuckles sat near the opened door, gazing out with longing. It was wide open, beckoning him to freedom -yet the torrential downpour discouraged any "Bright Ideas".

Eggman was probably watching through a security camera right now, laughing as his stupid robot stood there trapped in conflict -stay or risk short circuiting? MK wished he knew where this camera was so he could give his "Master" the bird before he trashed it.

There was a strange fluttering sound, and a clatter near the door. Standing up, he saw a glistening white figure shaking itself off, raindrops illuminated in its -_her_ -fur by a flash of lightning. His data banks immediately recognized the creature as Rouge the Bat. He'd seen her a few times around the base, but he knew from Knuckles Life Data that she wasn't always working for Eggman.

"What a mess out there." She laughed, causing MK to tense. A moment later, he realized she was talking to herself.

The bat squeezed some water from her hair and yanked off her gloves. Lighting sliced the sky, once again lighting up her face. Her pale fur seemed to glow in the night, making her look ghostly.

Her silhouette wasn't all the lightning revealed. MK saw her eyes widen a bit as they fell upon him.

"Knuckles?" She stammered, looking like she was caught between the urge to step toward him and away from him. Stepping out from the shadows, he watched her expression fade to a mix of relief and disappointment. "Oh. You're just one of Eggy's robots." She chuckled, a coy smirk playing off her lips. "And a pretty good looking one that that."

His face felt like it was overheating.

"How about we keep this visit our little secret?" Rouge purred, walking closer. MK felt himself nodding. "Thanks, 'Knuxy.'" The overheating feeling increased as her lips brushed his cheek briefly. Knuckles' Life Data buzzed inside him. He watched, dumbfounded, as she flitted up without another word, disappearing into the rafters.

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><p><strong>Thanks Ultima, Domino, That Gamer and PenFullofChaos819 for your reviews.<br>**

**Ultima: Ohhhh... -_-' Oh yuss, thank you very much for what you said in Ask Tails Doll :3 You and That Guy/Thing/Person/Whatever made my day.  
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**Domi: Again, thank you ^_^**

**PoC: Thank you so much for reading this for me, it means a lot. Like I said, I'm going to work on Mighty, and hopefully he'll be ready by his next pairing XD And thank you so much for the kind words ^_^  
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**Seeya 2morrow.  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	11. Please, KnuxCosmo

**I also liked writing this one, because I do like this pairing :/ I know the age thing makes it kind of squicky, but ever since that episode when Cosmo takes Knuckles hand and says that "Maybe he's like her and sees the good in everyone", this pairing has been floating around in the back of my mind. I see it as being sort of one-sided, from Knuckles point of view, sort of on the sideline from Tails and Cosmo's little romance. And I don't necessarily see it being romance, I see it as Cosmo confiding in Knuckles and Knuckles caring for her because she's one of the few people in Sonic X who believes he's more than just some gullible fool.  
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><p><em><strong>Please<strong>_

Knuckles had never been one for manners or politeness. He tried to be courteous when he could, but pleases and thank-yous never seemed to be an important part of the agenda.

Then came along Cosmo. That strange yet sweet young girl who had, ever so pleasantly, asked him to make the world a better place.

"Maybe it's because you're like me," he remembered her once saying, with that warm smile on her face as she'd taken his hand in hers. "And you believe that everyone has some good in them." Her laugh as she'd said this contained no sarcasm or malice. It was like she really believed that was the case -not that he was stupid, that he was just... Naive. Like her. She'd said it with such warmth and understanding that he'd wanted to believe it too.

One night, he'd been sitting next to the Master Emerald, when she had come in with some food. It had surprised him, since she usually spent her time with Tails or Cream and Amy. She'd said something about not wanting him to be left all alone, as she'd handed him a sandwich Cream had made. They'd talked about some stupid stuff, mostly about the Master Emerald (apparently Cosmo found his duty fascinating and not boring, like Sonic). Then, out of the blue, she'd turned to him ask him a question unlike any he'd been asked before.

"Knuckles... Can you please promise me something?" Her voice was quiet.

"That depends what you want me to promise." He'd shrugged, unsuspecting.

"I want you to promise me that you'll try to make your world a better place. Please?" He almost choked on his sandwich. She'd sounded so darn _serious,_ despite the abnormality of her question, and he honestly hadn't known how to respond.

He remembered her smile though, and her laughter as she'd told him that he was like her; how warm and accepted it had made him feel. She'd reminded him that he wasn't just some idiot, some screw up. She'd believed in him.

So he nodded, his voice the same serious quiet that hers had been.

"Sure."

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><p><strong>Damn the word limit Dx So far the Cosmo pairings have been very fun to write XD<br>**

**Thanks Ultima, That Gamer and PenFullofChaos819 for your reviews.  
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**Ultima: I haven't been checking in on it lately... Mostly because of the grammar when I started off. I'm such a grammar nazi... But seriously, names have to be capitalized Dx They just do!  
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**TG: Thanks for the Gold rating :3  
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**PoC: Thank you again for reviewing the chapters for me ^_^ It's nice to have a detailed response :3 And sorry that the Silvaze one wasn't all that good :/  
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**Seeya later!  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	12. Alone, KnuxShade

**I'm thinking about expanding the Knuckles/Cosmo thing into a oneshot... Anyway, this is my second favorite Knuckles pairing (it used to be my first x3). Following a crack pairing with an obvious pairing XD I'm going to tell you ll right now, I pair Knuckles with pretty much anyone :/ There are some pairings with him I like more than others, but for the most part, I'm not picky about shipping Knux.**

**I love KnuxShade though, I like the whole "OMG another echidna!" thing, and it is just so dang _easy_ to come up with ways to support this. Plus it's pretty adorable. And I just love Shade in general. I figured Alone would be a good theme to go with, since Knux was the "only echidna" until he found out about the Nocturnus Clan... Chronicles ftw!  
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><p><em><strong>Alone<strong>_

In one swift movement, she tore off her mask, letting it hang limp by her side. The look of shock on all of their faces was nothing if not amusing, but the look on the Knuckles Clan survivor's face was the most entertaining by far. His violet eyes blew wide with shock, and for once he seemed at a complete loss for words; unable to manage even a stammer. Finally, a broken statement fell from his lips.

"That's... Impossible." His voice strained, sounding weak. Never once having seen him falter, even when he'd been defeated and dragged -still kicking -to imprisonment, seeing him look so utterly shocked and _pathetic_ should have brought pride to her.

So why didn't it?

Shortly after their encounter, she warped away from the scene feeling strange, almost numb. She thought finally seeing a look of defeat in her rival-clan member's eyes would make her feel powerful. Instead, she just felt like... Like a bully. That was a juvenile term for it, but it was the best fitting word she could think of.

Watching her underlings parade by in single file, it was only now that she realized how _many_ of them there were. Hundreds of echidnas, so very far from extinct like that "Knuckles" (what an _original_ name, she wondered if he'd chose it himself) had believed them to be.

What must it have been like to be that alone? To know -or at least think -that you are the last of your species, and that once you die there will be no more? Such an oppressing feeling it must be. Shade couldn't remember the last time she'd been alone. From the days of her youth she'd been surrounded by her own kind, almost never getting a moment of peace. She would have bet that Knuckles would have given anything for something like that.

He wasn't alone now, she thought. Now he knew there were hundreds of his kind, still alive. But he was fighting them. They were enemies. For some inexplicable reason, there was a dull pain in her chest.

Right now, he probably felt more alone than ever.

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><p><strong>Chronicles is one of my favorite Sonic games (except for the gameplay).<br>**

**Thanks Ultima, That Gamer, nom, Domino and PenFullofChaos819 for your reviews.  
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**Ultima: I warned you, it's gonna get cracky XD  
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**PoC: Many thanks for the reviews, and for getting the pairing XD After seeing some reviews, I think I want to expand on that pairing...**

**Nom: I'm going to! It's already on mah list!**

**Domi: Thank you for getting the pairing ^_^ It needs more love!  
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**Must write more chapters... _  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	13. Sky, TailsRouge

**Alrighty, a pervy pairing... jk XD More crack here, Tails/Rouge. Don't worry though, nothing happens. Credit goes to PenFullofChaos819 for giving me the idea for this theme (I got stuck ._.). **

**Anyway, this takes place before Tails met Sonic. It's more about them both feeling unwelcome on the ground, and finding the sky as their only safe place. Sometimes, they spotted each other up there, maybe even flew together. Basically, only one line hints that _maybe, possibly, some day,_ something _might_ happen between them. Maybe. So yeah, I suchk at making these romantic XD**

**Rated T for language.  
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><p><em><strong>Sky<br>**_

The earth had always felt so entrapping. It was like a prison. No matter where they turned, there was always another obstacle rising in their path. Cruel words and crueler people, forcing them flat against the ground.

_Freak. Mutant. Dork. Geek._

_ Slut. Whore. Floozy. Trash._

_ Worthless._

On the ground they were nobodies -they meant nothing to no one. But in the sky, it was a whole different story.

There was something so _liberating_ about taking to the skies, wings slicing through the air as she tore through the clouds, leaving the ground far behind. Down there, nothing felt right. The world was confusing, and no matter where she went she couldn't help but feel that she just didn't belong. Up here, everything was simpler. Just flap your wings and ride the currents, that was as complex as it got. Masked by a night that others found oppressing, she'd never felt so free.

For him, it was the same. He had no place down here, among all these "perfect" people with their perfect families and perfect lives. He'd watch them walk home to their safe, warm houses, and all the while he'd sit and ache. The sky called to him, beckoned him. Once upon a time, it made him feel lost, caught between two worlds. Now, it welcomed him with open arms. He relished the dull ache as his tails whirled, lifting him higher and higher, into a place far away harsh words.

On the earth they were nothing- two souls battered and forgotten by a world that had no place for them. In the sky, they were whoever they wanted to be. A pilot or a hero, a spy or a thief, enemies or friends or perhaps something more- the possibilities were endless. But their time up there was not. Because eventually they would have to descend, leaving their safe haven behind.

Like others before them though, they would not lose hope. Someday, perhaps, they'd find the place where they knew they belonged. And until that day, whenever they'd feel lost, they would just turn their heads to the sky, and push on.

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><p><strong>Thanks Ultima, That Gamer, PenFullofChaos819, and TailsLovesCosmo for your reviews.<br>**

**Ultima: You do? *high fives* It's an awesome pairing XD  
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**PoC: I like mah echidnas angsty, I guess XD  
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**See you all later!  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	14. Simple, VectorVanilla

**And now for a pairing normal people actually support :D**

**Kay, I think Vector/Vanilla is really sweet. Vector is such a goofball in the show/games, and I love the Chaotix Trio as much as I love the big Chaotix from the comics. They're like a little family too -and even though Vector acts like an idiot a lot of the time, I think he has his serious moments. After all, he's 20, and all he has for support are a 16 year old and a 6 year old. I'm sure that's not the best support system (Watch me focus on the Chaotix Family instead of the actually pairing, because I'm a n00b XD). So this is about one of his serious days, and how just seeing Vanilla helps him to take his mind of his problems :3  
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><p><em><strong>Simple<br>**_

"I'm going to play outsi~de!" Charmy's voice screeched somewhere down the hall. It was followed by a door slamming. Vector glanced up from his paperwork for a moment before he felt it dragging him back down.

All around him, stacks of bills -old and new -were piled high. Electric, water, heating bills; a fine for that window they'd broken, and the ever-present threats of eviction from their _wonderful_ landlord. Massaging his temples, he pushed his reading glasses higher on his snout. The calculator chose then to shut off.

"Dammit!" clicking it back on, the screen popped up with a zero, calculations gone. Furious, he tossed it across the room, where it hit Espio amidst his meditation.

_It doesn't matter if the stupid calculator works, I'm still not going to be able to afford those damn bills._ Seething, he shoved the chair back and got up unceremoniously.

"I'm goin' for a walk!" He snarled as Espio glared at him, holding the calculator.

The air outside was a bit brisk, but he didn't care. He didn't have a specific destination in mind; all he really wanted was to get a breather, get away from all those numbers. Man, he hated math.

Following a small dirt path off the sidewalk, he found himself standing outside a small, rather familiar house.

"Oh!" A feminine voice gasped. Turning around, Vector spotted a young rabbit in a long pink dress. "Vector! What brings you out here?" Vanilla -the single mother of Cream the rabbit, and a frequent customer of the Chaotix -smiled brightly, in her arms a basket of laundry (probably off the line). Vector felt a faint heat crawling into his cheeks.

"I-I was just taking a walk," he stammered, grinning sheepishly. "Wound up here by mistake, I guess." Laughing a little nervously, the heat in his face intensified as Vanilla chuckled, still smiling her beautiful smile.

"Well, since you're here, how about a bite to eat? I just made a pie," As she went on about making some tea, Vector could feel all the stresses of bills washing away, the wonderful calmness that came from Vanilla and her household reminding him of much simpler times...

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><p><strong>Thanks Ultima, That Gamer, PenFullofChaos819, and Domino for your reviews.<br>**

**Ultima: I like it as a sort of bro/sis relationship, or something that would happen when Tails was older :3  
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**PoC: Still, thanks ^_^ I would love to find a decent backstory fic for Rouge.**

**Domi: As I said to Ulitima- I like the idea of them being friend or having a bro/sis relationship too. Yeah, I bet Rouge would tease him XD  
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**See you all later!  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	15. Lie, KnuxLien Da

**I've decided to do a angsty, depressing one today. Because it reflects my mood today.**

**This chapter is rated T for cheating and limes.  
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><p><em><strong>Lie<br>**_

The phone rings once. Twice. Three times.

"Will you get that?" A female voice groans from beside him. Sighing, Knuckles rolls over and picks up the phone. Seeing the caller ID, he feels his stomach do a nervous flop. Hesitantly, he lets it ring once more before he picks it up.

"H'llo?" He mumbles, gut churning.

"Hey Knux!" A cheerful voice replies. It's Julie-Su. The knot in his stomach tightens.

"Hey Jules." The smile in his voice is forced. "What's up?" The body next to him shifts, and he tenses, fur bristling.

"Not much. Just checking up on you. How you holding up while I'm gone?" She sounds so concerned, it kills him. Someone nuzzles him beneath the dreadlocks, and he struggles not to laugh. It tickles.

"I'm fine." His voice sounds so _fake._ What is he supposed to say though? He hates himself for lying, hates himself more than he ever thought he could, but he can't help it.

"Hang up on her already." Lien-Da purrs silently, draping herself over him and resting her head on his chest. Her finger traces over his crescent teasingly, and he feels himself tense some more.

"Did you say something hun?" Julie-Si frowns through the phone.

"What? Oh, no. It's just... I miss you. That's all." She's 'awww'ing now, and he feels like a piece of shit.

"I miss you too Knuckles." Her smile is so sweet and so _honest_, even through the phone. Choking on a good-bye, he hangs up, slamming the phone down and taking a deep, ragged breath. He's not a good liar. He values the truth over a lot of things, and he's never felt worse than he does right now.

He's supposed to be loyal. He's supposed to love Julie-Su. So why is he lying here in bed with her sister? Why is she sleeping next to him, head on his chest, so warm and inviting? What he's doing is wrong and it's cruel, but for some reason it feels _okay._ Then he remembers the girl he promised his heart to, and said heart sinks.

"Forget about her." Lien-Da yawns, snuggling up against him. He wraps an arm round her, stomach still sick. He'll try to forget. But he never quite can...

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><p><strong>Thanks Ultima, That Gamer, PenFullofChaos819 for your reviews.<br>**

**Ultima: Hah, Vector's not cool and level headed. He's adorkable though.  
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**PoC: Happy future writing to you too. I hope everything goes well on your end, and I'm sorry.  
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**See you tomorrow, I guess.  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	16. Heart, EmerlCream

**I will now follow up my depressing whabam chapter with a boring, fluffy chapter. Bl**

**Sorry about yesterday's lack of explamnation. I love Knux with all my fangirl heart, and I don;t hate Julie-Su at all. I just wanted to try something a little different than my typical runn of the mill angst or my fluffy not even a romance romance. I'd never really thought about the pairing before... I think I might like it though. There are no fics about them. The pairing is nonexistent. I like Lien Da though, even if she's an a-hole. She's cool, in an evil way.**

**Anyway, here's a pairing I _do_ like and _do_ support. The only pairing Sonic X cemented my support for.   
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><p><em><strong>Heart<br>**_

Emerl didn't know a lot about emotions. He knew that playing down at the beach with Sonic was fun, and that fighting seriously was not fun at all -as he'd learned from Cream -but there were lots of other emotions he didn't understand. Like, why did Tails' ears droop when Sonic told him his 'techno-babble' was kind of boring? And why did mommy's face turn as pink as her hair whenever Sonic said something nice to her? He wished he knew.

As he stood in front of Cream holding the flowers out to her, her face lit up with the same pink hue that mom's always did when she talked about Sonic. She was smiling, and her eyes were huge and shiny.

"Emerl! They're beautiful!" She cried, taking them shyly. "You really picked them for me?" Her eyes cast down a bit and she peered up with a sort of nervous smile. Why did she look nervous? They were supposed to make her happy. He didn't like it when his friends were sad, especially Cream. Seeing her smile made him want to smile. You know, if he had a mouth.

"Of course!" he replied, voice chipper. The pink in her cheeks grew a little darker.

"I'm going to go put them in some water right away!" She decided, turning toward the house. "Wait right here, okay?" Calling back over her shoulder, she sprinted toward the house, almost running into her mother. Vanilla chuckled, looking happy to see her daughter so excited.

"Why is she acting funny?" Emerl looked up at Vanilla, hoping for an answer.

"Funny?"

"Yeah. Her face got all pink and she looked nervous. Did I do something wrong?" Now _he_ felt nervous. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Cream. Vanilla smiled a smile that looked almost _sad_ (why did faces have to be so hard to read?), and patted his head comfortingly.

"I don't know if you'd understand it yet, Emerl." She gazed back at the house, where Cream was skipping out. "It all has to do with the heart."

"Oh." Emerl replied, a fuzzy, confused feeling settling in. He wasn't sure what a heart was. But Cream looked happy again, and that was all that mattered.

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><p><strong>WHY DID EMERL HAVE TO DIE? I loved him. He was adorable. TT~TT<br>**

**Thanks Ultima, That Gamer, and PenFullofChaos819 for your reviews.  
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**Ultima: YOU FINALLY GOT AN ACCOUNT! *infinite D faces*  
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**PoC: I just felt like experimenting... ;3  
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**Updates might be lazy... I have stupid finals coming up, and I don;t have that many pre written themes at my disposal... *sighs*  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	17. Shoes, SilvRouge

**I saw this theme, and immediately I thought of this pairing. I've seen a lot of fancomics making fun of Silver's boots and "fashion sense", as well as one where he sneaks into Rouge's room to try on her boots (and gets caught by Blaze and Rouge XD). It was originally going to be stupid, but I decided to make a nicer, hurt/comfort thing. This isn't really romance, it's more friendship or familial. I can;t help it, I love Rouge's character. It's very flexible.**

**Anyway, Silver seems to be a character who gets accused of being gay quite a lot. I haven't seen him in 06 (and all I know is that he's an _ass_ in the Rivals games), so I can't judge. I don't really care who people pair him with, quite honestly, and this is not yaoi bashing. I just imagine that Silver wouldn't be happy if people were making fun of him about it.**

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><p><em><strong>Shoes<br>**_

If someone were to ask him how the heck he'd ended up in this mess, he would have told them he had no clue.

He was shoe shopping. With Rouge. Again, he wasn't sure how he'd managed to get himself into this.

All he'd done was compliment her boots. They were nice, after all, and they really helped tie her outfit together... He knew that most guys didn't really care about clothes, especially not shoes, but Silver had grown up with Blaze. You couldn't hang out with royalty without picking up a fashion sense. According to Blaze, he had a good eye for coordination. Still, if he'd known that a simple compliment would have instantly made him and Rouge Shopping Buddies, he'd have kept his mouth shut.

"What do you think of these?" Rouge asked, gesturing to a pair of black stilettos. They were pretty nice, kind of shiny, with some nice little studs around the top and-

What was he thinking?

"I-I don't know..." He faltered, trying to rescue what little manliness he still had. Rouge gave him an exasperated glare.

"They're definitely worth a shot..." He grumbled dejectedly. Rouge smirked, slipping tthem on. Silver sat down on the bench next to her, sighing quietly.

"Why you so down?" Silver glanced at her sidelong. "What, you really hate shoe shopping that much?" She chuckled.

"No, it's not that. It's just... Most guys don't care about shoes and stuff. So..."

"People make fun of you?" Rouge finished. Silver nodded, not looking at her.

He was used to being teased, but that didn't make it any easier. He knew what some people thought about him, about his orientation. It wasn't something he'd really thought about, but when he heard the whispers and the jeers, it hurt. They made it sound like it was a _bad_ thing...

A gloved hand fell on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"Don't listen to them," Rouge's voice had an audible shrug in it. "You're gonna hear a lot of crap that you don't wanna hear in your lifetime, kiddo. All you can do is walk it off. They aren't the ones who matter. It's the people who care about you that do." He was staring at her now, finding it a but hard to believe that these words were coming from her of all people. "If they really care about you, then they aren't gonna care whether or not you know how to pick a good shoe. Got it?"

Silver nodded slowly, swallowing slightly.

"Y-Yeah." He felt himself smiling. Maybe Rouge wasn't so bad after all.

"Good. Now, let's go-" she dropped the box of shoes on his lap. "We've got two more stores to hit." With a wink, she waltzed toward the register, leaving Silver there in wonder.

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><p><strong>This is so over the word limit... Sorry DarknessAngel TT~TT<br>**

**Thanks Ultima, That Gamer, BinaryHedgehog, Tuume and PenFullofChaos819 for your reviews.  
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**Ultima: Good luck with the fic posting :D Emerl is adorable. he deserved better...  
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**PoC: Yes... He is suffering from ROXAS-syndrome XD And not just ANY Roxas syndrome, Zombie Days Manga Roxas Syndrome! But it's the most adorable syndrome around, so it's all good. This is why I love teh robots so much -they remind me of Nobodies XD**

**Binary: I will save the files, but I am taking it down. Thanks for your support though :)**

**Tuume: Again, thank you for the review and the open-mindedness.  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	18. Phone Call, MightJulie Su

**In which I continue to ship Knuckles' girlfriend with people who are not Knuckles. Maybe this is revenge for him cheating on her? XD I was actually pretty tempted to write something like that, but since Jules didn't know, she wouldn;t have to retaliate... And I don't think Knuckles would cheat on her -I think he's too naive to do something like that, but whatevs.**

**Anyway -I love Mighty. And I like Julie. And they have a cute friendship. I decided this was worth a shot. Apparently Julie-Su is partially robotocized, and guess what? You can hook up a communicator to her and her dreadlock works as an antennae :D It's pretty awesome. That's where the idea to this comes from,**

**Mighty always puts his foot in his mouth. But I love him anyway.  
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><p><em><strong>Phone Call<br>**_

There weren't many times when Julie-Su questioned the fact that she was partially roboticized. It was annoying when it was raining, and it sucked when people asked her to leave so she wouldn't interfere with the radio, but most of all, she hated when someone needed to make phone calls out in the middle of nowhere.

"Just a few more minutes, Su." Mighty assured her, tweaking her dreadlock slightly. A long wire ran from it, plugging into a TV, which was flickering. She and Mighty had been sent out into the middle of the desert for _some_ reason, and now Mighty needed to get in touch with Knuckles. Which meant the walking talking cell phone had to sit still and wait for the stupid communicator to turn on. Yeah, these were the times Julie-Su _hated_ being half metal.

"You'd better turn that TV away from me." She growled, and Mighty did so obligingly.

"Someone's a little snippy today," he pointed out lightly, rarely one to accuse. She sighed, knowing he was right.

"Sorry Might," she forced a weak smile. She wasn't a grouch by nature, but whenever she was in a bad mood, the rest of the Chaotix knew to stay clear. She was just glad it wasn't _Vector_ who was out here with her, or else he'd be asking her if it was "That time of month again".

"I just don't want Knux to see me all hooked up like this." She admitted, face a little red. It wasn't that she was ashamed of what she was -she'd always been this way. But sometimes she remembered that she and Knuckles were supposed to be enemies, and being all strung up in wires never failed to bring that to mind.

Mighty looked up from fiddling with said wires and stared her up and down, then smiled.

"I don't think he'd mind. You look fine." Julie-Su smiled a little.

"You think so?" Mighty nodded.

"Well yeah. I mean, you always look beautiful-" He seemed to become aware of what he was saying halfway through, and once he did, his cheeks started to flush and he bit down on his sentence. Without continuing, he went back to tweaking the wire. Julie-Su watched him, beaming.

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><p><strong>Thanks Ultima, That Gamer, Domino, Black Twilight Wolf and PenFullofChaos819 for your reviews.<br>**

**PoC: Thanks for the rating x3 When I write Rouge, I just see her as someone who leaves everyone in awe, and someone who had issues in the past, but overall is proud of who she is and doesn;t give a crap what anyone thinks. I'm glad I was able to convey this :3 Personally, i think Silver was portrayed best in the Archie comics. He was adorakable XD  
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**Domi: There are a few Shadow pairings, one in the near future :3  
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	19. Dance, SonRouge

**I should probably note that these don't necessarily happen in the same universe. Like Knux cheating on Julie-Su? Not the same storyline as Mighty/Julie-Su. These aren't meant to follow after one another. If they are, I'll let you know :3**

**I've decided to do another Sonic pairing. Because he's only been in here twice. Not counting when he's been mentioned. Seriously though, it's his fandom. However, in order to do that... Rouge must show up again. So far, it seems like most of these have been about Julie-Su, Knuckles, or Rouge :/**

**I liked the idea of Sonic seeing Rouge dance and just being awed by her, even if it never became something more. And I could see Rouge in a club. No alcohol involved in this though!  
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><p><em><strong>Dance<br>**_

He wasn't really a "clubs" kind of guy. He was a morning person, not much for the night life. After a long day though, he'd somehow wound up here.

Now that he thought about it, he wasn't quite sure what town he was in. Or was it a city? Probably a city, towns didn't have places like this.

Neon lights pulsated everywhere, and the music was loud enough to make you deaf. The darkened windows reflected the strobe lights, making the entire room look like some light-up rainbow. This place was a seizure waiting to happen. It was crowded and loud and they didn't serve anything remotely close to a chili dog (he _refused_ to order any beverage, out of fear he might end up with something spiked). Pretty much a living Hell. All he wanted to was to _get out of here_-

Until he saw her.

She strode out onto the dance floor as though she owned it, completely ignorant of others. The crowd seemed to part around her like the Red Sea, eyes turning as the elegant nocturnal vixen took the stage. Her usual skintight attire was spruced up,shimmering like onyx in the strobes. As the next song picked up, he stared as though he was in a trance. It was a fast song, some sort of techno remix of something or other, but he hardly even heard it. All he could see was her, shaking and moving, just _flowing_ with the beat. She wasn't dancing to it, she was dancing with it, like she could feel every vibration of the speaker. Like it was a part of her. And it was amazing.

From song to song, his eyes remained glued to her. Guys of all shapes and sizes came up to her, hoping to score a dance, but each one was sent back to their seats alone. Songs changed and so did the patterns of the swarming lights, but no matter the beat, she continued to move, never once losing her place.

He would see her again countless times, but he would never see her the way he had seen her that night- completely and utterly free.

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><p><strong>Rouge is awesome :D<br>**

**Thanks Ultima, That Gamer, Domino and PenFullofChaos819 for your reviews.  
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**PoC: You have learned never to underestimate me XD Naw, don't worry about it- I wrote this before I posted the Julie-Su Vector thing, and I didn;t change anything Mighty said. Mighty will have a few more pairings though, so I'll get to delve into his character some more :3  
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**Domi: I almost put up the Shadow pairing... But Sonic needed some love :3**

**Ultima: Plot convinience? Pshaah, like _I'd_ ever do anything like that. ^_^' Really though, I got this idea from one of the comics, where she was in the desert with a TV hooked up to her head... So it was sort of what could have happened before we cut to them. I guess.  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	20. Blank, ShadJulie Su

**Here's Shadow's pairing: Shadow x Julie-Su. Really random pairing, I know. My sister and I came up with it one day while we were bored. We had our "main pairings", and then we decided to mix it up. Shadow was originally with Rouge, but then we put her with Knuckles, and so we randomly paired Shadow with Julie-Su (because we thought their kids would look cool)... I have stupid fangirl moments. Too bad my sister hates Sonic because of me XDDD**

**Anyway, I like, can't write about Julie-Su without mentioning Knuckles. I mean, their souls are interconnected. You can't just _unwrite_ that, at least, not in a little oneshot like this. It would take a lot of time. And Julie-Su finding out about Knux cheating on her (maybe I should expand on that XD). So, in one comic, Knux was helping Shadow because he felt like he understood what he was going through. What the heck the Chaotix are doing, I have no clue. Just... Go with it.  
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><p><em><strong>Blank<br>**_

Her fingers drummed against the table loudly, filling the otherwise silent room with the obnoxious beat. Sitting across from her was a black and red hedgehog, who was staring at her blankly, teeth gritted. She could tell her wanted to tell her to knock it off -if not yell at her to quit it -but so far, he'd done a great job at keeping his mouth shut.

Julie-Su had never really met Shadow before. Knuckles had told him a little bit about him, and she'd seen him a few times -usually from a distance -but so far, she'd never been this close to him.

He wasn't bad looking. His physique reminded her a bit of Sonic's, but he had a bit more of a rugged, wild look to him. Sort of like Knuckles, she supposed. He wasn't much for conversation -in fact, he seemed kind of rude -but Knuckles seemed to like him well enough. Apparently, he's found a bit of a kindred spirit in him. Neither one knew much about their past or their purpose, and with each step they took, the truth seemed to slip further and further away. That was why Knuckles had offered the Chaotix's help in the first place. They were doing a bit of research, trying to scrounge up any information they could get their hands on. She's just offered to keep him company while he waited.

"Do you want something to eat?" She asked suddenly, wanting to break the awkward silence. Shadow stared at her, the blank look in his eyes not breaking.

"No, I'm fine." He replied curtly. Sighing, she got up to get something for herself.

As she moved about the kitchen, she could feel his gaze following her. Every time she turned around, he was suddenly fascinated with the table.

His stare was just so plain, so glossy. Yet it seemed fake. Like there was something underneath it, something he was trying to mask. They said the eyes were the window to the soul, but if Shadow's eyes were anything to go by, his soul must have been a very boring place. And that just didn't seem to fit the bill.

She felt his gaze bore into her, and quickly she whirled around, finally gaining eye contact. He looked surprised, and after a few seconds, amused. The smallest of smirks tweaked at the corner of his mouth, or for a brief moment, she saw a light in his eyes. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was something.

"Do you think you could get me a glass of water while you're up?" He asked casually, going back to examining his gloves. Julie-Su smiled. It looked like the windows were opening.

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><p><strong>I don't actually think this pairing could legitimately work out... And I just did another Julie-Su pairing, didn't I? She's going to be my favorite character by the time I'm done with this, isn't she?<br>**

**Thanks Ultima, That Gamer, Domino, Tuume, Rainclaw321 and PenFullofChaos819 for your reviews.  
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**Tuume: Woah, excellent analogy. Especially considering Rouge's obsession with jewels ;3**

**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	21. Fear, Knuxails

**Okay, this is the first yaoi. Except it isn't really yaoi. Not very romantic, like most of these, more hurt/comfort, friendship/brotherly. I love Tails and Knux, they're my favorite characters, and there aren't many fics about _just_ them, romantic or otherwise (go figure most of them are M Rated romance fics). Oh hwell.**

**The idea for this came from Speedy1236. We were talking about how Knuckles and Tails have both had moments where they show a fear of ghosts, and I thought it would be interesting to have the two of them sort of sharing their fear. I also wanted to try and explain _why_ they were afraid of ghosts. **

**So, enjoy the not-quite-yaoi yaoi, I guess.  
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><p><em><strong>Fear<strong>_

It was all because of that _stupid_ haunted house...

Walking down the darkened sidewalk, the kit clinging to his arm caused him to stumble.

"Walk a little faster, will ya?" Knuckles growled.

"S-Sorry..." Tails mumbled weakly, his grip loosening slightly. His ears flattened against his skull and his gaze fell downward, while his twin tails tucked slightly between his legs as he tried to keep up with the irritated echidna. It was absolutely _adorable_, and even Knuckles would have admitted it, had he not been in such an awful mood.

Sonic was the one who had talked him into going to the damn haunted house in the first place. He hated ghosts, they gave him the chills, and he knew Tails didn't like them any more than he did. But that stupid hedgehog had convinced him -somehow -that it'd be "fun", just the three of them, like the old times. Then the jerk had bailed on them at the last minute, apparently having remembered some date Amy had conned him into.

He hadn't enjoyed the haunted house -not that he'd expected to -and Tails... The poor kid had been downright terrified. As if the stupid ghosts -which had looked too realistic for his liking -weren't enough, there'd been all sorts of fake lightning and thunder to add to the "Spookiness." Tails had actually broke down crying.

Knuckles had always hated ghosts, since he'd first run into them. You couldn't punch a ghost, couldn't fight it. It could do whatever you wanted, and there wasn't a single thing you could do to stop it.

"They aren't _supposed_ to be real," Tails had sobbed on the way out, clinging to him like a lifeline. "I can't shoot at it or analyze it, I can't explain it... It just _is_, and it's _scary!_"

Looking down at the kit -who was still quivering -he felt a pang of sympathy. Taking his hand, he gave it a reassuring squeeze. Tails looked up in surprise, sniffling slightly. Returning the gesture, he pressed against the echidna's leg, and they continued the rest of their walk in silence.

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><p><strong>Thanks That Gamer, Domino, Leianladude, EmilieNicolia, and PenFullofChaos819 for your reviews.<br>**

**PoC: Only time shall tell how far Julie-Su shall go!**

**Seeya tomorrow~  
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**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	22. Real, SilverCosmo

**Sorry for the lateness ._. I won't bore you with excuses.**

**Okay, so, I have NO idea where or when this happens. This is AU, I guess. The pairing was inspired by a pic of Cosmo glomping Silver, and this chapter was inspired by a Silvaze fic where Silver asks Blaze about the timeline and time travel and if there's even a reason to keep on fighting. I don't know if this is post or pre 06, all I know if that it takes place after Sonic X season 3, and in the English version, it hinted that Cosmo isn't _really_ dead, she's just sort of... Gone, somewhere else. There was some little ficlet where she'd kept on floating through the universe and ended up somewhere else. I guess that's what happened here.  
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><p><em><strong>Real<strong>_

Every night, he would visit her. She said her name was Cosmo. It was easy enough to remember -he always thought it was strange that such a pretty girl would have a boy's name. She said it was after a type of flower, but all he could ever think of when he heard the name was some strange cartoon Blaze had let him watch when he was still small. He was getting off topic, though.

Around the same time each night, Silver would become restless, tossing and turning and unable to sleep. The night would be dark, dead. So silently -so not to wake the sleeping Blaze, who lie in a bed across the room -he would ease open the window and float out.

It was on one of these restless nights that he'd first saw her. She was standing alone in some charred field, staring at the sky. The glow from the distant city seemed to light up around her, forming an ethereal haze where she stood. For awhile, he just stood there, staring. A small cough gave away his presence, but all he got was a warm smile from the girl, and an invitation to join her.

She said she was lost. She'd been caught in the in between, and had somehow ended up here. She told him stories about the place she had come from, the people she'd met and how different it was here. It sounded too far fetched to be true.

Each night he would return to his own bed, and when he next woke he would wonder if the girl was even real. She was like a ghost, only appearing at night.

Once, he had managed to ask her about these doubtful thoughts.

"How do we know if any of this is even real?" He murmured, staring at the sky. "What if you're just some figment of my imagination? Or _I'm_ the imaginary one?" Thinking about the thousands of multiverses spiralling out there made him feel so... _Insignificant._

But Cosmo never had an answer. And so the nightly ritual carried on.

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><p><strong>Leianladude and PenFullofChaos819 and the other person I'm too lazy to check for (TT~TT sorry) for your reviews! And for reading the Knuxails XD<br>**

**Review! The button is right... Here!**

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	23. Attempt, SilverLara Su

**I liek dis pairing too. It's okay. I ended up just comparing them a lot. But, because of the word limit, I only managed to just brush what I was trying to get at. Well, I hope this was "magical" or whatever.**

**I seriously have to start WRITING the rest of these before I update the rest -_-'  
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><p><em><strong>Attempt<strong>_

As Silver stared out over the desolate, crumbling ruins of the city, he felt a familiar chill run up his spine. This whole place looked so barren and lifeless. It was like a replica of his home. Dead, and getting worse by the minute. With a sigh, he let himself sink to the ground, quivering a bit as he silenced his powers. Using them for too long tired him out, and he hadn't had so much as a nap since he'd gotten back from his latest trip to the past (he_ still_ hadn't found that traitor).

"See anything?" Turning around, he saw Lara- (oh wait, she was calling herself Jani-Ca now, wasn't she?) coming toward him, and he forced a weak smile.

"No, nothing yet." He could tell from the look in her eyes that this wasn't the answer she'd wanted. Smiling a bit more genuinely this time, he tried his best to reassure her. "I'm sure we'll find him sooner or later, though." The echidna scoffed, whirling around.

"Not if he finds us first." She growled under her breath. Silver sighed, ears drooping a little. Sometimes, he wondered how he got caught up in messes like this.

"All I want to do is fix _my_ timeline..." He mumbled, stifling a yawn. What he _wanted _right now was to curl up and take a nice long nap. Couldn't do that though. Nope, had to help out here. He couldn't find some stupid traitor in the Freedom Fighters to save his own time though. How the heck could he stop some crazed megalomaniac if he couldn't find one lousy rebel?

Trotting to catch up with Jani-Ca, she paused and looked back at him. There was a haggard look on her face, one that he knew all too well. She was like him, wasn't she? Just some kid, doing her best to fix someone else's mess, because if she didn't, well, who would? The weight of the world was on her shoulders because she had to take it, or else she'd end up watching it crumble from the sidelines. Silver smiled tiredly, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. Her eyes flashed, but not in the dangerous way they had before. He couldn't be sure, but he liked to imagine that it was her way of registering him as a kindred spirit. Someone who felt her pain, and would attempt to help in any way they could.

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><p><strong>Silver was so awesome he got two chaps in a row!<br>**

**Thank you Tuume, Misty Rius, PhilThePersonaGuy, That Gamer, PenfullofChaos819 and ChaoCream for reviewing :3**

**Misty: Thank you for going into this with an opened mind :3  
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	24. Dawn, EspAmy

**No this is not back up and running. It's still on hiatus. It just decided to rise from the dead for a few minutes. Rawr.**

**Enjoy some world limit-thrashing Espio/Amy. If you don't like Epsio/Amy, then there is a little button on the top left corner of the window you can press to go back. **

**Enjoi~  
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><p><em>EspioAmy  
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_Dawn_

"Where are we going?"

It was the third time this morning- this dreadfully dewy, cold, _early_ morning -that Amy had asked this question, and for the third time she'd been ignored. Her guide, the silent shinobi himself, had refused to give her any details as to where he was taking her at 5:00 in the freaking AM. Amy yawned, squeezing her eyes tight and stretching. She was _so_ not a morning person. Didn't Espio realize that not everyone was a ninja like him, and therefore didn't follow his strict Rise With the Sun routine? Speaking of the sun, where the heck was it? The sky was still a dusky purple color, the only light a faint glow on the horizon.

Usually, Amy wouldn't have risen this early for anything, or anyone (except Sonic, though lately even _that_ was a questionable reason). However, recently, she'd somehow managed to strike up a friendship with Espio. Awhile ago she'd never have imagined she would even be talking with the antisocial "ninja", yet now she would go as far as considering him one of her closest friends.

It was the product of several unfortunate incidents that had led them together. An accident in the Chaotix with Vector that Espio was reluctant to talk about, Sonic getting closer with Blaze (who had ended up trapped in their world) until Amy wasn't sure how much closer they _could_ get, and all of the repercussions of these events had pushed Amy and Espio away from their usual crowds.

Amy couldn't bear being around Sonic any more. She just couldn't stand it. When Blaze had arrived here, she'd been more than happy to give her a place to stay. She'd been the perfect host- she'd been kind, she'd been understanding, she'd even turned the other way when Sonic asked her if she could give them some time alone. She _knew_ Blaze wasn't a threat, she _knew_ Sonic and her were just friends and would never be anything more. But, apparently, she didn't really know anything.

Her chest still ached to think about it, walking in and seeing them. Sitting so close, practically eating each others faces...It made her feel sick. They'd tried to talk to her, but she hadn't wanted to hear anything from either of them. Blaze had went to go stay with Cream and Vanilla. Sonic and her had exchanged few words since.

Espio was the only one she had been able to turn to. Cream and Tails were too young to confide in, and listening to the problems in her love life was one of the last things on Knuckles' list of things he wanted to do with his time. Espio hadn't been much more willing than Knuckles to listen to the problems of a girl he hardly knew, but that was part of what Amy felt so comforting.

They didn't know each other that well, before then. They weren't particularly close, had only met on a few occasions and even then had never spoke. Amy didn't fear the judgement of Espio. She wasn't afraid to talk to him, this boy she thought she would never speak to again. His opinion hadn't mattered to her at the moment, and inside she was ready to burst. She'd found the chameleon meditating outside the worn down shack the Chaotix called home, and before she knew it, she was telling him everything.

Their daily exchanges had continued like that for awhile. Amy found herself walking to the Chaotix every day, and every time Espio would be sitting out there. For awhile she would just sit down next to him, awkwardly attempting to talk small talk. Sometimes he would reply, other times he wouldn't. Eventually they began to talk every day, moving their conversations from the stairs to the fence, until they started walking around town. Amy did most of the talking. Most of the time, Espio just listened. Sometimes Amy felt guilty, like she was using him, but when she'd told him this he'd just shook it off.

"If I didn't want to listen, do you think I would still be here?" He'd made a good point.

Espio wasn't like Amy's other friends. There was something about his usual silence that she found... Comforting. He was serious, a little stern, but she'd found that on a good day Espio was rather pleasant. He didn't smile all that much, but when he was happy she could tell. When he talked about something he liked, she couldn't help but smile, because when he cared about something it showed in every aspect of him- his eyes, his stance, his voice. He was different from her other friends, but different was something Amy had needed.

She still didn't know what had happened to Vector. From the look on Espio's face whenever she asked about it, she got the feeling that it had been more than just an accident. It was one of those things she'd learned not to talk about, despite the gnawing curiosity she felt whenever it crossed her mind. It was a wonder she'd managed to avoid it for so long. Vector had been in the hospital. Charmy had been sent to stay with Vanilla until Vector was dismissed. Espio hadn't showed up for a few days, no matter how long she sat on the steps or how hard she knocked.

"We're almost there." Espio called from up ahead, and Amy's train of thought broke. The magenta chameleon was standing a few yards away, curled tail twitching slightly. He was pushing aside some branches flattening them down, trying to make a path for Amy to follow through.

"What is it that you wanted me to see?" Amy asked, trotting to catch up with him. Her socks were soaked from the dewy grass and the damp air. She was kind of chilly. She should have brought a jacket. Espio smiled at her, stepping aside so she could take the lead. Hesitantly, she walked through the foliage, wondering what was awaiting her.

She gasped. They were sitting on a little ledge, overlooking Green Hill Zone. Over to the North, she could see Station Square. They sure had walked a long ways. Everything was covered in an early-morning shadow. Everyone down there was probably still sleeping.

"What are we doing up here?" She asked, walking over to the edge. It wasn't that far down- there was a slopey hill banking down into the zone, but it looked slippery, especially with all the dew.

Espio set down his rucksack, pulling a blanket out of the straps, grabbing it by the edges and tossing it out.

"Didn't think you'd want to get wet." He smoothed it down, taking a seat. Amy smiled, clambering onto the blanket and sitting next to him, legs crossed. She could feel the damp ground seeping up through the fabric, but she ignored it.

"Okay, now seriously, why are we here?" Amy asked, a slight whine in her voice. Patience had never been one of her strong points. Luckily, Espio was patient enough to deal with that. He just smirked at her, looking out at the horizon.

"It's a surprise." Was the most she could get out of him. "Just wait a minute. Then you'll see." Amy huffed, pouting as she rested her chin on her hands. She wasn't very fond of getting surprises. The uncertainty threw her off, especially when she couldn't help but wonder if she was being set up for disappointment.

Turning her own gaze to the horizon, she stared at the mountains in the distance. They were still dark, a deep emerald color. There was a strip of sky right over the mountain range that glowed slightly, casting a few golden rays as far as it could. It was kind of pretty, Amy thought. Then it hit her.

"The sunrise?" She asked, looking at Espio. He signaled for her to hush, then pointed back at the mountains. She looked over, noticing a little bit of light rising from the strip.

The little yellow tip poked its way up over the horizon, a small beam of blinding light. Slowly, it climbed higher, and the murky purple clouds changed their colors, from purple to pink to red, until they were stained gold. All around her, the dew sitting on the grass and hanging from leaves and tree branches lit up, glistening in the dawn. It was beautiful. It was amazing. It was indescribable. It was so gorgeous and romantic-

Amy's thoughts paused, and she felt her eyes watering. Romance. Yeah, right. She let out a small, bitter laugh, and in the corner of her eye he saw Espio turn his head to look at her.

She'd always dreamed that Sonic would do something like this for her, take her someplace beautiful and tell her that he loved her. But Sonic never would do something like that. Not because he didn't like her "like that", she realized, or even because he liked someone else. It was because that wasn't the kind of guy he was. He didn't _do_ things like that, didn't care about that sort of thing. But she, she _did_ care about it. That was the kind of girl _she_ was. She wanted someone who would pay attention to her, someone who didn't run the other way every time she got romantic. She wanted someone who would devote their time to her, someone who would go out of his way to do something like this for her just because he cared. Sonic... Sonic wasn't that kind of guy.

All of this was dawning on her right then and there, and suddenly, she felt... Strange. Why hadn't she ever thought about that stuff before? And why was she suddenly thinking about it now?

Turning to look at Espio, she saw the blissful look in his eyes- golden, just like the dawn -and she felt herself smile. She felt like she was glowing too, just like the clouds.

Right here in this moment, everything felt perfect. She wished she could freeze time, make it last forever. Letting out a happy sigh, she leaned against Espio, placing her head on his shoulder. She felt his body tense at her touch, stiffen, and then slowly start to relax. It made her smile broaden.

The sun crawled higher, the light racing out over the mountains and the valleys and eventually the city, and the two of them just sat there, watching it. Amy knew that any second now, the sun would lift, sailing away from the horizon and rising up into the sky. She knew the gold wouldn't stay, that soon the day would start and dawn would disappear. But in this perfect moment, these last few seconds, she could still hold onto this feeling- this peace, this bliss. She could make it last.


	25. Joy, BokkuTails

**What's this? Two updates? In the same week! Impossible! Ah, but nothing's impossible, when you're... When you're... Crud, can't think of anything inspiration _or_ cheesy. Ah well.**

**Screw the word limit xD For now...**

**The theme to this is joy. If you pay attention, you'll see I use the word joy _once_ in this entire thing. It really is unrelated to the theme ._.  
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><p><em>BokkunTails  
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_Joy_

"Hey! Hey, Fox-boy! Heyyyy!"

Tails sighed, placing his screwdriver down and glaring at the little black robot sitting nearby.

"What is it _now_?" He asked, trying his best to mask his exasperation. Tails was a very patient mobian, but Bokkun was a very annoying robot, and he'd been testing his nerves all day.

The other day he'd been out running some errands for Ella, when he'd heard a high-pitched whining coming from near the dumpsters. When he'd gone to investigate, he'd found Bokkun lying amongst bags of garbage, half dismantled with wires spilling out everywhere. It had been a rather pitiful sight, and a bit disturbing. After all, Eggman liked to make his robots sentient, and most of the time Bokkun seemed more like a bratty child than a malicious weapon.

Tails was not a mean person. He, like Sonic, had a weak spot for those in need. And though Bokkun was technically the enemy, seeing the little robot so mangled and helpless had struck a chord somewhere in the little fox's heart. After all, Bokkun wasn't like most of Eggman's badniks. Sure, he was annoying, and harassed them, but the worst he ever did was bring in those exploding televisions, and those never did much damage beyond blasting smoke in their opponent's face. Plus, he was crying. Yes, he was designed to cry, probably as a means of getting his enemies to lower their defenses or something like that, but... Well, he was just too childlike for Tails to leave there. The thought of it left a bad taste in his mouth.

So here he was. He'd smuggled the broken bot into the lab he shared with Chuck, working diligently. Chuck was away for the week, off doing something... Sciencey. He hadn't cared to elaborate, but for once Tails was glad his mentor was busy. If he'd been here, it would have been much harder to fix the little badnik.

"I'm hungry." Bokkun whined, his "ears" spinning around so that they drooped downward. Tails sighed, shaking his head. So far, fixing Bokkun had proved to be much more trouble than it was worth.

"You just ate," Tails grumbled, already walking over toward Chuck's mini fridge. "Plus, you're a _robot_, therefore you don't have a digestive system, so it's not like eating food does anything for you." Unless Eggman had figured out how to get energy for machines from things like starches and sugars (which were all Bokkun seemed to want to eat). Tails pondered that for a moment, taking a mental note to look into it later.

"Hey, I didn't ask for a lecture! I'm _starving!_" Bokkun moaned, and Tails rolled his eyes. "How much longer do I hafta stay hooked up to this thing, anyway?" The little robot asked, tugging at a wire that was attached to his arm. Tails had hooked him up to one of Chuck's monitors (a new model, which he'd tinkered with in his friend's absence) so he could, well, _monitor_ the robot's recovery. Tails' mechanical expertise extended more into the field of vehicles and computers. His knowledge of robots was... respectable, to say the least, but nowhere near as advanced as Eggman's. It was better to play it safe with fixing up one of his specially designed badniks, lest he mess something up. Working on Bokkun felt more like trying to patch up a child then trying to fix a machine. Most machines didn't cry if you did something wrong.

"Let's see..." Tails handed Bokkun half a ham sandwich that he'd found in the fridge (which the robot scowled at before sinking his teeth into) and looked at the screen. There were no sign of bugs in Bokkun's system, and there didn't seem to be any fluctuations with his energy source or anything at all, really. Yet. Again, better safe than sorry. "About half an hour, I'd say. The computer's not done checking you over yet." Tails explained. Bokkun groaned, plopping down on his back and dropping his sandwich. "Careful, you'll pull the cords out." Tails warned, making sure none had been loosened.

After that, things quieted down. Tails went back to tinkering, noticing the silence. Bokkun hadn't stopped talking since Tails had brought him here. Whether it was to complain, to cry, or to insult him, he'd managed to keep that motor mouth moving. Tails wondered if maybe his vocal box had short circuited or something. Peering over his shoulder, he saw that the little robot was just sitting there, fiddling with his gloves (why did a robot even need gloves anyway? Then again, why did _he_ need gloves?) and looking rather... Depressed.

Tails frowned, trying to turn his attention back to his invention, but failing. He was usually good at staying focused, but he was a bit of a worrywart. He couldn't help being concerned. Bokkun was supposed to be the enemy, but he was hard to take seriously. Most of Eggman's henchmen were though, when he thought about it. Plus, he'd saved Bokkun's life, and the bot didn't have any bombs on him (as far as Tails had seen), so he doubted he meant any harm.

Hesitantly, Tails got up. Bokkun's ears twitched, but he didn't look over.

"You feeling okay?" Tails asked, his voice a little awkward. The robot looked up, a dull look in his yellow eyes.

"Yep." He sighed, resting his chin on his hand. "Just fine and dandy." Wow, even robots could be sarcastic. Tails padded over, taking a seat next to Bokkun. The little robot shuffled over a bit, making room for him. The monitor whirred softly, and Tails looked up at it. There still didn't seem to be any fluctuations or viruses.

"Are you hungry again?" Tails asked, though he doubted that was the case. Bokkun looked downright depressed. Then again, he _was_ designed to overreact, cry on command, and play to his opponents weaknesses by acting cute and vulnerable. For all Tails knew, he might be planning to self destruct and take out the whole lab. Or at least throw his half-eaten sandwich in his face. There was something about that dull, miserable look in his eyes though, something that struck Tails as real. Eggman's robots were sentient, or at least _acted_ like they had emotions, and surely anything that Bokkun "felt" was real to the badnik.

It was then that Tails remembered the state he'd found Bokkun in. Mangled, falling apart, ready to short circuit or explode at any minute. He'd been so focused on fixing the little bot, he'd never thought to ask what had happened.

Who had done that to him? It couldn't have been Sonic- Sonic wouldn't have done something cruel like that, and he doubted Amy or Knuckles would. Well, _maybe_ Knuckles, if Bokkun had pissed him off enough...

"Bokkun, what happened?" The robot-boy's ears twirled upward, and he blinked, staring at the fox.

"H-Huh?" He asked, his high-pitched voice sounding a bit startled. Tails' namesakes twitched.

"When I found you out near the dumpsters... Who did that to you?" Saying it out loud made it sound so bad. He'd found Bokkun lying in the _trash_. That couldn't have been an accident. His gut churned, wondering who or what had thrashed the childlike robot. Bokkun's ears flipped up and down a few times, then settled on down.

"I-It was nothing. Just... A delivery mishap?" His voice faltered, and he ended the sentence sounding like he was trying to decide if he could pick a better excuse. Tails sighed. The monitor started beeping, and both boys looked up at the screen. Tails got up, checking it over. Everything was clear. He looked down at Bokkun and smiled.

"Looks like you're all set." Tails gave him a thumbs up, and Bokkun's eyes lit up.

"Really?" The bot hopped up, tugging at the wires attached to his arm fervently. Tails laughed at his enthusiasm, helping him get untangled.

"Hey, don't get ahead of yourself." Tails chuckled, curling up the wires. "Try not to push yourself too hard right away. Just in case." Bokkun was flexing his legs and arms. He looked overjoyed to be able to walk around again. He activated his jet pack, hovering above the ground and doing a little spin.

"Alright!" He grinned. Tails smiled. Bokkun really was just a kid. Like him.

Bokkun turned to him and beamed. "Thanks a lot, Tails!" His grin faltered as he realized his mistake. "I-I mean... Y-You're just lucky I'm still recovering," He stuttered, trying to sound intimidating. "Foxboy." He added on, hastily. Tails rolled his eyes, still smiling.

"Yes, yes. Just be more careful this time, okay?" Bokkun waved his worried away.

"Whatever," He flew higher, aiming for the window. Pausing, he looked back at Tails, a sheepish look on his face. "Uhm... You aren't going to tell anyone about all this, right?" He asked, embarrassed at the thought of Bocoe or Decoe or even _Eggman_ finding out that he'd needed _Foxboy_ to save him. Tails just smiled, flying up to open the window (because odds were, Bokkun would just smash through it).

"About what?" He asked. Bokkun smiled, flitting out and giving the fox a brief salute. Tails waved slightly, watching the little bot take off. Soon he was nothing but a dark dot on the horizon, and Tails turned back to his work. He still didn't know what had happened to Bokkun. Now, he probably never would.

The workshop was quiet again, oppressively so without the obnoxious chatter of a little robot. Sighing, Tails turned on the radio, trying to take his mind off it...


	26. Trust, SonKnux

**Updated for realz this time. With my favorite pairing. After laboring over this pairing forever, I finally found the theme that worked for it. Please enjoy.**

**EDIT: This takes place at the end of the video game Sonic & Knuckles, after Knuckles' story (I read that he and the M.E. fall from Eggman's flying whatever it is this time, and Sonic/Tails fly in on the Tornado to catch him). Forgot to mention that.  
><strong>

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><p><em>SonicKnuckles_

_Trust_

_~* **Trust Fall** *~  
><em>

The wind screamed in his ears as he fell, tumbling and turning in the air. All around him, all he could see was blue- blue sky, blue waters, and not an island in sight. Not even the Floating Island. Just him and the Master Emerald, falling, falling, falling...

It didn't matter how far out he fanned his spines, or how far out he held the Master Emerald. Nothing slowed their descent. They were spiraling toward the ocean, and as strong as he was, he doubted he'd be able to tread water all the way back to Angel island (wherever it was) while trying to keep the Master Emerald from sinking. Either he'd drown, or he'd have to abandon it. Either way, it would be lost at sea forever, and the Island... Well, that would probably sink too.

He was such an _idiot._ Why had he listened to that stupid Robotnik? Why hadn't he just trusted Sonic? If he'd listened to the hedgehog, maybe he wouldn't be free falling to his doom, with the very relic he was supposed to be _protecting._ Inwardly, he cursed himself, in every way he knew how. He was going to die, he realized, staring down at the waters beneath him. He would drown, and he would fail, and no one would ever know or care.

A small whirring sound made itself audible in his ear, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a red dot flying toward him. Trying to balance himself- not an easy task while plummeting to your death -in the air, he squinted at the dot, just able to make out a little blue figure standing on top of it.

_It's them._ The colors clicked in his mind as the dot- that fox-kid's plane -drew closer. The little fox was piloting the plane, while Sonic stood atop the wing, eyes locked on their target.

Knuckles latched onto the Master Emerald instinctively, trying to keep it from falling away. The plane drew closer, until the propeller and the motor were a eardrum-bursting roar.

"Closer!" He heard Sonic's voice -just barely -over the whine of the plane, and the mechanical monster drew a little closer. Sonic was at the edge of the wing, the edges of his feet hanging off. Knuckles could tell from the queasy look on his face that he was trying very hard not to look at the water below them. _He can't swim,_ Knuckles remembered, Hydrocity coming to mind.

"Knuckles! Try and move the Master Emerald closer!" Sonic shouted- more like screamed, trying to be heard over the motor. Immediately, Knuckles felt his hackles rise as distrust filled his mind. It was stupid, really, to even think such things at a time like this, but Knuckles felt himself starting to draw back. Everything Robotnik had told him, along with everything he had done, came rushing back to him. What if Robotnik was right, about Sonic and his little friend? What if they were all awful, the three of them?

"Knuckles! Come on, I'll pull you in!" Sonic's voice nearly cracked under the strain. Knuckles stared at him, his gut twisting. "What are you waiting for?"

"How do I know you're not like him?" Knuckles screamed back. Sonic blinked, and it looked as though this thought had never occurred to him. He shook it off, gnashing his teeth at the echidna.

"Because I'm not!" He scowled. Knuckles' grip on the emerald tighten. He could just see it in his mind- the emerald being yanked away while he was left to fall. He could see it, and he wished he couldn't, but now it wouldn't leave him mind.

The water was getting closer.

"Come _on_ Knuckles!" Sonic roared, reaching out, leaning over so far it was amazing he hadn't lost his balance. "_Trust me!_"

Knuckles looked down for a brief second and saw the water rushing up to greet them. He looked back up, into Sonic's eyes. That same determination was still there, burning like it had when he'd first shown up on Angel Island. Knuckles swallowed. He shoved the emerald at the hedgehog, and Sonic grabbed tight, taking a step back and nearly toppling into the cock pit.

The wind began to tear at Knuckles' body, pulling him away, and he struggled to get a good grip on the emerald. His gloves slipped against the smooth surface, sliding on the edges. Swearing, he tried to get a better hold, but the only way to do that was to let go, and if he did that-

Sonic grabbed his hand and pulled, hard. He fell forward, collapsing into the plane with Sonic and the Master Emerald. Breathing heavily, he sat up, shaking slightly. The plane veered to the side as it curved away from the water, its nose pointing toward the Floating island- a dark speck in the sky a ways away.

"Everyone okay?" Fox-kid asked, his voice tight. He didn't take his eyes off the sky.

Sonic looked at Knuckles and laughed, his voice wavering. He was shaking too, Knuckles realized. His hand was still wrapped tightly around his wrist, tight enough that it almost hurt. Sonic noticed, and let go. His eyes were still burning fiercely.

"Yeah." He smiled as Knuckles began to rub his wrist. "We're okay."

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><p><strong>FINALLY. FINALLY SOME SONKNUX. It took me freaking long enough -_-<strong>

**You know what... Even if everyone hates this, I don't care xD I finally wrote it, and I'm happy.  
><strong>


	27. Sweet, AmyTails

***casually posts something as though it has not been months since the last update***

***casually ignores the fact that this chapter is sucky compared to some of the others***

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><p><em><strong>Sweet<strong>_

Grocery shopping was such a _drag._

Amy shifted her hold on the large paper bag in her arms, sighing impatiently. She glared at the _Don't Walk_ signal, hoping this might prompt it to change faster. It didn't.

After what felt like forever, the pixely hand turned into a little orange man- and just as it changed, someone much taller than her walked past, knocking into her and making her lose her balance. Amy yelped, watching helplessly as her bags toppled over, groceries spilling all over the sidewalk.

"Thanks a lot!" she shouted, glaring after the man as he disappeared into the crowd of pedestrians, ignoring her. Amy grumbled something unflattering about humans, reaching after her stuff.

"Go figure... It's Valentine's Day, and I'm stuck running errands for Vanilla." Amy muttered to herself. It wasn't that she didn't want to help Vanilla- she loved the woman as though she were her own mother. She's just been hoping that Sonic would ask her on a date, or at _least_ send her a card... The day was almost over though, and so far, it didn't look like Sonic had anything planned for her.

"Hey, Amy!" a familiar voice called. Amy looked up, surprised to see Tails rushing toward her. The twin-tailed fox skidded to a halt next to her, panting slightly. Amy smiled a little, grabbing her bag and getting to her feet.

"Hi, Tails." She was surprised by how tired she sounded. It really had been a long day... "How are-"

Before Amy could finish her greeting, a red heart-shaped piece of paper was shoved into her hands.

"H-happy Valentine's Day!" Tails stammered, grinning nervously. Amy looked from the fox to the card, not sure what to make of it. She hadn't expected to get any gifts today, except maybe from Cream and Vanilla, and Sonic (her inner optimist could dream, couldn't it?). It was a rather simple card, but it looked like it had been homemade. Amy smiled.

"Why thank you, Tails." Leaning down, Amy planted a quick kiss on his cheek. Immediately, the little fox's muzzle darkened. Tails mumbled something incoherently, before turning and darting off, weaving himself into the crowd.

Card still in hand, Amy watched him go with a warm and fuzzy feeling in her chest. Without even trying, he'd managed to brighten what had been shaping up to be the dullest Valentine's day she'd ever had. Sometimes Tails was just the sweetest thing...


	28. Letter, SonElise

**Woah man woah two updates one day woahhhh. **

**Ha, I know no one actually ships this (okay that's a lie, but I know it's very unpopular)- truth it, I used to _hate_ SonElise with a burning passion. But the funny thing about this challenge is that it's made me look at all of the ships I hated or didn't care about, and made me realize that honestly, they aren't that bad. Even Sonic/Elise has it's pros along with it's cons. And while I don't really ship it, I do think onesided SonElise is very sweet and sad.**

**If anyone wants to gripe about how SonElise is bestiality, feel free to do so on one of the several Elise Bashing forums FFN has to offer. Good day :)**

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><p><em><strong>Letter<strong>_

_Hello Sonic,_

_It's been awhile, hasn't it? _

_I'm not sure why I'm writing this. I don't intend to send it, so it's not like you'll ever read it. And even if you do, it won't hold any meaning to you, I'm sure. After all, you don't even remember who I am now, do you? We don't have a place in each others lives, not any more. After everything that happened, it feels strange, knowing that it was all erased. Like nothing ever happened. Almost like it was all just a dream..._

_I won't lie. It's hard going back to the way things were before I met you. I'm not sure you realize what a huge impact you had on my life, Sonic. You see, before I met you... I was miserable. My life felt so dark. Days came and went, but I felt like I was just a shadow passing through them- like I wasn't really there, like I wasn't really _living. _I was a prisoner in my own life. No mater how many times people told me to perk up and smile, or reminded me how much better I had it than so many others, I still didn't feel any happier. I couldn't find a way out of that hole that I was living in. _

_Then you came: with your smile and your light... Suddenly, everything was better. You were my hero._

_I know this won't mean much to you now, but you were my best friend. My first friend, actually, but to me that only makes it more special. You taught me how to smile when no one else could. You helped me make my own path, be a part of my own life. You showed me what it was like to be happy, to have friends, to love..._

_Every time I feel a breeze, I can't help but look around. For some reason, I can't get you out of my head. I can't stop myself from thinking that one day, I'll turn around and it will be you standing there, smiling and asking how I've been. Like nothing has changed. I wish that that would happen. That you would pop in out of nowhere and carry me off on some adventure... Is that strange? _

_You know, when I was younger, people used to read me stories about knights in shining armor who would come and rescue girls like me. I remember I always used to wish that some hero would rush in and sweep me off my feet, carry me away into the sunset. When you came... Well, honestly, I thought maybe my dream had finally come true. The knight in the stories was never a hedgehog, but that's beside the point. You're not just some hedgehog. You're my friend. And I miss you._

_I'm still not sure why I've put so much time into this letter, stared at it for so long and erased and rewritten and crossed out so many lines. Maybe it's so I can get some closure. _

_Is this a good bye? I never got a chance to say that. Never got to thank you for everything you did for me. Never got to tell you how I felt._

_That girl, your friend... Amy Rose, was it? How has she been? I can tell she thinks the world of you, Sonic. If you ever give her a chance, I wish you two nothing but the best. Nothing but happiness._

_I don't know what this letter is for. It's to tell you good bye, but it's also to say hello, because I miss you, more than I thought humanly possible. And it's it's to thank you for everything you did. It's to tell you how I've been, and how I felt about everything that happened. How I still feel._

_I miss you. I wish I could see you again. _

_I'm glad you got rid of Iblis, Sonic. Now I don't have to worry about hiding my pain. _

_Now I don't have to hide my tears. _

_**~Elise**_


	29. Risk, Tikade

**Holy crap three updates in a row woah man woahhhh.**

**I couldn't resist posting this one. I only found out about Tikal/Shade a little while ago, and I only actually started thinking about it seriously yesterday, but these two are really freaking cute. And tragic because it is impossible for them to ever be together in the canon storyline (_my __two top requirements for OTP status_ *shot*). Anyway, enjoy these precious babies. I plan on writing a longer oneshot about them later on.**

**(this takes place when they're a little younger, 13 or 14 I'm supposing)**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Risk<strong>_

"Aren't they cute?" Tikal asks, twirling in a circle and giggling. The small blue creatures flutter around her, tugging at her hair and nuzzling her. Shade stands stiffly halfway up the steps, trying not to worry too much about surveying the area. Tikal has assured her that no one ever comes here, and out of all the times they have visited the altar they haven't encountered anyone. Shade is still nervous though.

Tikal sits down, stroking one of the creatures- 'chao', she calls them -that has nestled down in her lap. She motions for Shade to sit, beaming up at her. Shade glances around once more, but doesn't see anything. She takes a seat.

"Go on, pet one." Tikal urges, watching her hopefully. Shade frowns. One of the littler chao is staring at her, the orb over its head warping to form a question mark. Shade is not one to fawn over cute things, but even she must admit, they are quite adorable.

"They aren't going to bite you, Shade." Tikal giggles.

"I know that," Shade replies, trying not to sound too gruff. She fails though, and Tikal sighs quietly, looking a bit dejected.

Shade knows Tikal just wants her to relax and have fun. They are friends, even if they are from separate clans. Tikal doesn't care that Shade is a Nocturne, just like Shadow does not care that Tikal is from the Knuckles Clan. The other members of their clan are not quite so nonchalant though.

Shade knows that she is supposed to hate the Knuckles Clan. They are barbarians, after all: heathens who shun progress in favor of brute force. Tikal is different though. She is sweet, and kind, and she wants to be her friend. No one in the Nocturnus Clan is like that. All of the puggles her age are arrogant and obnoxious. The boys call her names and the girls pull her hair, and it seems like whenever she opens her mouth they all just glare at her.

She is not sure what it is that makes her so different. She is a good fighter. She is smart. She looks toward the future and voices her opinions, however strange they may be. She is everything a young Nocturnus lady should be... So why does she only feel comfortable when she is with this girl from the Knuckles Clan?

"Are you sure no one is going to find us?" Shade asks. Tikal nods. There is something sad in her pretty blue eyes, something vacant. She cradles the chao in her arms, gazing emptily at the large gem next to them.

"I'm the only one who knows about this place... I tried to tell my dad, but... Well, you know how it is." she smiles a little, but it's very fake. "He never listens. Nobody does." Shade nods, because she is fairly certain she knows the feeling. Even when people do listen to her, she gets the feeling that no one is really _hearing_ her. Her words are lost on her peers. Nothing she says can make them leave her alone.

Shade reaches over and grabs Tikal's hand, holding it gently. Tikal's gaze flickers from Shade's fingers to her face. Shade can see the pain in her eyes. She looks like someone who is very lost.

They are the only ones who understand each other. In this world where they are destined to fight, where any relationship they have is doomed to meet a foul end, they are each others only friend. It is scary and dangerous, utterly overwhelming... but it's the only thing they know, and Shade will be damned if she lets it go.

Her grip on Tikal's hand tightens suddenly, as though she's afraid she might pull away- that this fragile thing they have might fall apart and scatter in the wind. Tikal's fingers curl around her hand, squeezing back.


End file.
